Last call for reporting wheat, oats and fall planted cover crops: Dec. 15 is the final date to file a report certifying all acreage of fall seeded crops like wheat, oats and ryegrass. It is also the final date to report any winter cover crops planted this fall.
Wheat and oats are often planted just as a cover crop and not harvested as grain. Other crops like cereal rye and legumes (vetch or clover) and tillage radishes are planted strictly as winter cover crops. Any of these crops may be planted as a winter cover crop to help with soil erosion, weed control and carbon sequestration in the soil. Plus, there are many other agronomic and environmental reasons to plant cover crops and the trend has seen a resurgence lately.
Wheat or oats for harvest as grain should always be reported to FSA. However, reporting cover crops is strictly voluntarily.
Reporting ryegrass or other fall seeded winter grazing crops is also required by Dec. 15. With national drought monitor updates showing Tallahatchie County currently in a D4 extreme drought situation, it would be to a producer’s benefit to report ryegrass and other annual winter grazing crops timely. If the national drought monitor shows that the drought extends into the winter grazing period, then a winter Livestock Forage Program (LFP) could be activated like in 2017 and in 2022.
The current farm bill requires every participant to certify all cropland on a farm to be eligible to receive any benefits. This includes any winter wheat or oat crop that might be double-cropped by planting soybeans or another crop next summer after the wheat is harvested. Cover crops reported, are not considered row crops for harvest and, therefore, have no effect on a producer’s FSA program acreage reporting requirements. They are not required to be reported to FSA.
For all crops of wheat or oats to be eligible for a commodity loan or LDP from FSA, the producer must also follow Highly Erodible and Wetland Conservation requirements of the current farm bill. For more information on wheat and other fall seeded crop acreage reports, call the Tallahatchie County FSA office at 662-647-8857, ext. 2, before Dec. 15.
Nov. 30 was the ending planting date established by crop insurance to plant wheat or oats for harvest next spring. Anyone planting these crops for harvest should report acreage to FSA and their private crop insurance agent by Dec. 15. This includes any of these crops planted after Nov. 30 but during the RMA established late planting period (Nov. 30 until Dec. 15).
